The field of the invention pertains to climbing and rappeling harnesses. The invention relates more particularly to a climbing harness and system having a single-length strap for supporting a user along the upper thighs when climbing. Furthermore, the one-piece, single-length design of the strap allows the climbing harness to be stored away in a compact fashion.
Climbing harnesses are used in recreational and commercial activities, such as rock climbing or high-rise window washing, or for military and emergency service activities. In any case, these high-risk activities require the utmost degree of reliability and safety to prevent catastrophic injury.
Various climbing harness designs have been developed to provide simple, convenient, and facilitated use of the harness, without compromising the requirements of safety and reliability. In many situations, simple and quick engagement or release of the climbing harness is preferred to attain a particular objective, the most notable being a life-saving objective in emergency rescue situations. It is especially critical in rescue situations for the climbing harness to be capable of being donned and secured with great speed and simplicity to provide a more rapid response. However, due to their bulk and/or particular design configurations, existing climbing harness designs are not particularly well-suited to enable rapid donning and use.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,642,911, a belt is shown with a main support ring which functions as a hub. The main support ring supports two leg-supporting straps which are secured to the ring by detachable hooks. Furthermore, a central shackle functions to form two thigh support loops by permanently connecting to the main support ring. This device, however, does not provide adjustment of the thigh loops created which may compromise safety of the user. Furthermore, this device does not provide a compact harness design which can be easily disengaged and compactly stored away when not in use. In particular, the permanent attachment of the central shackle prevents complete disassociation of the two straps from the belt, which consequently prevents the straps from being compactly stored away separately from the belt.
Another seat-type climbing harness is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,027 comprising a pair of thigh loops, each having two strap ends which are permanently attached to a belt. The harness is lifted, i.e. a load applied, at a clasping device 18 which functions to join the respective inner strap ends of pair of thigh loops. While this climbing harness in the '027 patent enables adjustment of the thigh loops, unlike the '911 patent, by means of a retaining strip and a clamping buckle, the thigh loops are limited to a maximum allowable circumference. Moreover, this design requires a user to "step into" the pre-formed thigh loops in the harness, which under stressful conditions can be unduly awkward and cumbersome, and which can impede response time. Furthermore, and similar to the '911 patent, the permanently affixed configuration of the '027 climbing harness prevents compact storage separate from the belt.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,750 another climbing harness is shown with a pair of buckles 58 and 60 which function to maintain a pair of leg loops at a desired circumference. In this arrangement, the leg loops are detachably connected to a belt portion by a centerpiece 46 which connects to a front portion of the belt via a belay loop 30, and by an elastic strap 62 which connects to a back portion of the belt via a haul loop 34. While it is possible to separate the thigh strap portion from the belt, it would be unduly cumbersome to release the strap ends 50, 52 from the buckles, especially when quick release is desired. Thus, Furthermore, and unlike the '911 and '027 patents, the centerpiece 46 operates alone at the front portion of the belt to support the thighs, without the strap ends 50, 52 separately attaching to the belt to provide an added measure of security.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,217, another climbing harness is disclosed having a continuous length strap which is wrapped around the thighs and waist of a user. The climbing harness is wrapped around the user's thighs to form thigh loops, and wrapped around the waist to provide waist support. Furthermore, an additional restraining strap is utilized to provide additional support at the back portion of the thighs. This arrangement, however, prevents any separation of the waist support portion from the thigh support portion, which would be desirable especially when the belt portion is utilized and necessary for other purposes not related to the climbing harness, e.g. a multi-purpose utility belt.
In summary, therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a simple climbing harness capable of being rapidly, conveniently and easily secured and removed from a belt without compromising reliability and safety when in operation. And in particular, a climbing harness which overcomes the limitations and difficulties of climbing into pre-formed thigh loops would also increase the speed and efficiency of donning the harness. Furthermore, a climbing harness which is compactly storable when not in use would enable rapid access to the harness when needed, and shorten response time thereby.